Transmogrification is a feature released with Patch 4.3.0[1] that players can access via an etherealTransmogrifier NPC. It allows players to alter the appearance of their weapons and armor for a fee (in gold).

Contents

Process

Player characters are able to visit one of the EtherealTransmogrifiers to use the service. Once there, the interface window will show the item slots of the pieces which can be altered. Players select the "skin" of the new appearance by drag-and-dropping the model piece into the respective item slot.

There will be a preview pane, allowing players to view the appearance of their items before committing the gold.

Current rules

Only uncommon (green), rare (blue), heirloom (pale gold) or epic (purple) items may be transmogrified (exceptions: a select few of these items will be prevented from being used to transmogrify if they are deemed inappropriate).

There may be individual items that are excluded from being transmogrified on the basis that they were originally added to the game as absurdities. (examples: a weapon that looks like a fish, or a chest piece that is invisible).

Other caveats

Transmogrified items can not be used to give their new look to another item. Only original appearance can be copied.

Trading, auctioning or depositing an item in a guild bank will remove the Transmogrified art, returning the item in question to its original artwork.[4] So be careful!

It seems at this point you will have to own the items you want to transform things into.

There is talk of having some items already available in the interface, such as the Death Knight starting gear and items no longer available in the game. However, Death Knights who want to retain their original appearance can simply open a Death Gate and return to Acherus. There, you can purchase the original gear from Quartermaster Ozorg. And players who missed out on obtaining certain armor sets, like the Wildheart Raiment for instance, might be able to still get the look.[5]

Sadly, "silly" weapons will probably not be allowed as source items.[6]

Notes

The new Darkmoon Island may make new "replica" items available for use with Transmogrification. These items may be an exception to the "with stats" rule.[7]

Trivia

The term "transmogrification" has earlier been used by Bill Watterson in his Calvin & Hobbes comic series. That may be where the term comes from in the first place.

The term "transmogrification" is also seen in Red Dwarf, when the crew manage to turn one of Lister's curries in a curry monster. Link here.

The word was used in a riff on a 1997 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Ep. 817, The Horror of Party Beach). In the movie, human remains are exposed to toxic waste at the bottom of the ocean and turned into zombie-like creatures. The drawn-out transformation sequence prompts Servo to quip about transmogrification.

Servo (as the zombie) Look, fish, you have the whole ocean. Can you swim somewhere else while I'm transmogrifying?